Tonight you’re all getting a two-fer, the chocolate and peanut butter, the Bert and Ernie, the Penn and Teller of Comic List Highlights. Because not only are you receiving highlights of comics, but games, too (mostly because we didn’t have time to write a post last night).

To start things off, lets recite the oath: In brightest day, in blackest night… Yup, the first hardcover collection of the New 52 Green Lantern comes out Wednesday. Easily one of the best ongoing series of the relaunch, Green Lantern has focused more on Sinestro than regular protagonist Hal Jordan, which has enlivened the book. And the reason for the shift in hero is due to Sinestro being allowed to wield the ring again, while Hal cools his jets on Earth. Until, that is, Sinestro comes a’knockin’. Geoff Johns has been writing some of the best Green Lantern stories ever since he got on the book around eight years ago, but this new volume offers a perfect jumping on point for anyone who’s wanted to read up on the character.

Keeping the superhero/comic base at a boil, but mixing in a smidge of gaming, next up is the second volume of Mutants and MastermindsDC Adventures: Heroes & Villains. As the first volume contained all characters ranging from A to K, this second edition picks up with L and runs it all the way to Z. That means you’re going to get classic characters like Lex Luthor, Superman, and Plastic Man, plus icon teams like the Justice League and the Secret Six. Offering gamers a shortcut into the DC Universe, these volumes contain all the stats, histories, and information you’ll need to BAM BIFF POW your way through the DCU.

Re-releasing in a new swanky graphic novel collection is BOOM Studio‘s 7 Psychopaths. A greater hook has never been created: what do you do when you want to kill Hitler and end WWII? Send in seven of the worst human beings ever to hunt down and murder the bastich. Of course, not everything always goes as planned. A grim, gritty spy series with artwork from exceptional Criminal and Incognito artist, Sean Phillips, 7 Psychopaths makes for a great, moody read.

As deck building games boldly go where no game has gone before they reach the Star Trek the Next Generation game. Using the base premise of deck building developed in games like Ascension, Dominion, and Resident Evil, Star Trek puts players into the role of a star ship captain, commanding their meager crew toward victory. Do you recruit further crewmen? Develop your ship’s equipment? Conquer worlds or make peace with them? These are the choices you will need to make in either the base version of the game or its Next Phase expansion. Both are stand alone and both go boldly yadda yadda blah blah.

Banks may not be the most popular entities right now, but I’d wager a guess that they might earn a little more love if they all looked like last week’s Deadpool Bust Bank or this week’s Black Costume Spider-Man Bust Bank.

Occupy Spider-Man Bank just doesn’t seem as likely.

If you’ve been a comic reader for a while or know anything about Marvel comic history, you may have heard that The Defenders get laughed at a fair amount. To be fair, they were comprised of a rather unusual group of heroes (I mean, how the heck did Hulk, Dr. Strange, and Namor ever have anything to talk about?). However, as is the way with comics, everything that was made fun of can be serious again, which is the case with Matt Fraction‘s new Defenders #1. Starting up this week, the new take on the classic team is once again lead by the master of magic himself, Steven Strange, but also claims Namor, Iron Fist, Red She-Hulk, and Silver Surfer. Yes, another eclectic roster, but in Matt Fraction‘s hands that means good reading. Especially considering his run on the Immortal Iron Fist is one of the most exceptional comic runs in recent history. Add to all of that the fact that the team will be chasing down the new Black Hulk and you’ve got a recipe for insanity.

Another book that dredges up the hits of the past, polishes them off, and places them all shiny and new into your lap is Dynamite Comic‘s Voltron #1. The first thing you’ll notice about this book is the gorgeous painted cover by industry legend Alex Ross. As usual, Ross conveys childhood nostalgia with every stroke. Inside the book, you’ll find Ariel Padilla’s artwork to be equal parts colorful and explosive. Story-wise, the book pulls from all incarnations of Voltron to create a fresh take on the characters for new and old readers alike.

If you’ve been following the DCU Online Statue collection, you’ve likely noticed they’ve all been top quality sculpts of fan favorite characters. You’ve probably also noticed that the Joker has not been among the releases thus far. Well, this Wednesday, that changes.

Feast your eyes on the Crown Prince of Crime’s DCU Online Statue.

Just not too long, he’ll dose you in acid.

Okay, so you’re preparing for your holiday feast, getting the turkey cooked, the stuffing stuffed, the potatoes mashed, and the nog egged. Then you dip a cup into the bowl of eggnog, take a sip, and realize…something’s missing. Think. Think. Wait a tick, that’s it! The X-Men is what’s missing!

And that’s where the new Uncanny X-Men and Avengers Toon Tumbler Pint Glasses come in handy, adding that extra little spice of nerd that’s so desired in your holiday meal.

This trade paperback I’m going to mention is, one, the third volume, two, from a series that no longer exists in this form, and, three, stars a character you may not know. Now that I’ve seriously stacked the deck against myself, allow me to continue.

So, yes, Batgirl: The Lesson tpb is the third volume in the series, so it may seem you are coming in at the end of things, but I’m here to tell you that won’t effect your enjoyment of this book at all (that and we can always order volumes one and two). This was the Batgirl series before the DC 52 relaunch and it starred Stephanie Brown, a C-Level character, as Batgirl. Stephanie, though a minor character, has been one of the most lovable, enjoyable-to-read characters in the DCU of late; she offered a fresh perspective to the Batgirl mantle in that she enjoyed the job to an obsessive degree but wasn’t always perfect at it. The dialog crackled, the action was well illustrated, and Stephanie had some of the best team-ups ever with the likes of Supergirl, Klarion the Witch Boy, and Damien (Robin), all of which should be in this volume. If you’re looking for that rare comic book that stars an intelligent, interesting female character, but doesn’t pander with lots of excessive T&A shots, this is that rare book.

We’ll take a variety of currency options up here at Pulp Fiction, but one thing we will not take is World of Warcraft coinage. That doesn’t mean we won’t sell it, though.

Which brings me to the fact that this Wednesday we will be receiving two limited edition, collector’s coin sets for World of Warcraft, one Alliance, one Horde. Each of these sets includes three coins related to their respected factions, all displayed in a dapper glass display case. Every coin is pressed with a key faction leader on one side and that faction leader’s home city on the other. Again, these sets are limited to 1000 printings (tiny, tiny for things like this), so grab them now or cry yourself to sleep later.

Any self-respecting Lovecraft fan knows that Arkham is not just an asylum in Batman. Well, now anyone else can learn about this thanks to the new Lovecraft Library volume 1: Horror Out of Arkham HC. Collecting a vast amount Lovecraft’s most popular stories, accompanied by gorgeous full-page painted illustrations. To name a few, there is “The Dunwich Horror”, “The Dreams of the Witch House”, and “The Shadow Out of Time”. The collection is also edited by noted author Robert Weinberg. That’s so much Lovecraft you’ll be speaking R’lyehian to yo momma!

Past their expiration date and still causing all kinds of mayhem, Milk and Cheese are back and bigger than ever! Milk and Cheese: Dairy Products Gone Bad HC collects every single appearance of the destructive duo ever published!

If it’s Comic List Highlights and it’s Pulp Fiction, then it’s time for your New 52 Update. In the New 52 Update we, the comicly nerdy, employees of Pulp Fiction tell you, the hungry for information, customers which DC Relaunch books ship this week with a one word description of each.

DC isn’t the only kid in the schoolyard dropping the #1′s like they’re hot. Marvel has their own relaunch occurring in the Ultimate Universe. And if you haven’t heard, Spider-Man is dead, long live Spider-Man! Yup, Peter Parker is dead, but Miles Morales is the brand new Spider-Man.

Where did he get spider powers? How did he get the costume? What’s his relation to Peter? When did he decide to don the mantle? Come for the mystery, stay for the teenager hijinks! Plus there’s that sweet new black and red suit!

Can anything else restart this week? Apparently, yes, because Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9 begins next week, too.

“Wait” you say, “Buffy ended at season 7! What is this season 9 you speak of?”. Though Buffy did end, on television, after her seventh season, her story has been continuing for the last couple of years in comic form. Basically picking up where the TV series left off, Buffy has been leading a literal army of slayers against a conglomeration of the show’s worst villains in battles across the world. After the cataclysmic ending of season 8, Buffy is getting back to the basics in San Francisco in this new edition to the fan favorite story written by the series creator himself, Joss Whedon.

Solomon Grundy born on a Monday. Died on a dark and dreary Tuesday. Made into a statue on a nerdy and normal Wednesday.

Next in line for the DCU Online Statue treatment is indeed the grey Goliath of Gotham, Solomon Grundy. These limited run statues have been sculpted off of Jim Lee’s adept pencils and have all been some of the slickest statues on the market since their inception. Gaze upon him.

But before we get to that, let’s discuss some other important words, namely teenage, mutant, ninja, and turtles. Relaunching through IDW next week, the original shellheads, the one, the only, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. And if you’ve always wanted to read up on the TMNT comics, this is the time to jump on. With Kevin Eastman (one of the original creators) steering the ship, this new Turtles books will be a back-to-the-basics slice and dice action adventure book with all the characters you’ve come to know. And if you’re still on the fence just take a gander at the conjoining set of covers at the right. What the shell, son, buy them all?!

Now for a little bit of that synergy I mentioned at the start. Two unrelated properties have some how miraculously come together next week in a thematic bonding unseen until this point in the Comic List Highlights posts. These two starstruck lovers are Doctor Who and Green Lantern. Both space bound. Both universal police, of a sort. And, this week, both USB compatible. Yes, first up is the Tardis USB Hub. This police box of awesomeness plugs into any USB port splitting it into four. Not only does it quadruple your USB power, but also gives you a little rush of joy every time you plug in a new device as it flashes its lights and makes that famous Tardis vrooming. And, secondly, what do you plug into your Tardis USB Hub but a Green Lantern 4Gb Flashdrive? With a pop off top, a mini-Lantern ring, and a cute cartoony design, there is no better flashdrive to carry around with you, but the predominate space cop, Hal Jordan.

Don’t know about everyone out there in Internet wonderland, but I grew up watching this cartooncalled Batman the Animated Series. If you haven’t ever seen this cartoon (the greatest cartoon ever!) then go search it out immediately, but if you have (like the rest of us) then you’ll know that Harley Quinn was originally developed for this show. Now, she’s gone on to become an incredibly popular character, but it all started with Batman the Animated Series. However you first became aware of Harley, though, there’s no denying she’s never looked better than the new Harley Quinn 1/4 Scale Statue. Don’t gaze too long, though, because my girlfriend will steal this guy right out from under your nose.

To end on a hopeful note of synergy again we turn to the wise, patient, and tentacle-headed Saint Walker. Maybe people like the color blue, maybe they’re attracted to the concept of hope, whatever the case anything with a Blue Lantern symbol slapped on it is a hot property up here at Pulp. For that reason, I present to you folks the new Saint Walker mini-bust. An equally detailed sculpt as any of the other Blackest Night DCU mini-busts DC has been releasing lately, the Saint Walker bust comes displayed on a sharp Blue Lantern base. What’s more, and this is where the synergy comes in, this week also marks the release of another light-up prop lantern (you guessed it), the Blue Lantern one. So, stop in and fill up on hope this Wednesday at Hope Fiction.

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